Cooking&more

Mung bean pancake (Peserattu) Mung bean or moong dal pancakes known as cheelas in hindi or pesserattu in telugu are an easy and popular dish in India. Many varieties abound, with whole or split mung beans and with or without filling. For our Saturday dinner, I chose to make them with split mung beans because they take the minimum effort and soaking time, and because I am lazy like that and because I would rather just read a novel or watch a movie with DH on a Saturday evening than spend hours in the kitchen preparing dinner  :) To make the pancakes (makes approximately 6 pancakes of 8 inch diameter each) Take  1/4 cup of rice to 1 cup of split mung dal Soak them in enough water to cover  Along with 3 dried red chillies and a shake/pinch of asafotedia powder (also known as hing this powder is easily available in Indian grocery stores. Its totally optional but I would totally recommend it) Soak for two hours-(this is where using split mung gives me a maj

Eggplant in cilantro gravy This is one dish that definitely took its time to get into my list of most-loved. I absolutely love it now, I love it for the soft on the inside crispy on the outside texture of the eggplants. I love it for the smooth creamy pungent flavor of the gravy, and most of all I love it for how absolutely insanely easy it is to make when compared to how impressive it looks when served at a party. The very first time I tasted this dish at a friends home, however, I did not quite fall in love with it. In fact, it was an affront to my delicate taste buds, which had hiterto been zealously protected from anything bordering on pungent. But the way it often happens, DH loved it and my dear friend gave me the recipe for it and it became a regular at our dinner table and slowly worked its way into my heart.  And the moral of the story is, if you don't like something the first time, don't give up on it, keep trying it and you may develop a taste for it.

It seems like it was aeons ago, I promised thee, gentle reader, a recipe for vegan cheese, and I know tis an ill kept promise, that hath been delayed in keeping, but what can I say. I accidentally deleted the pics from my phone and was waiting this long to make it all over again, and snap some wonderful photographs and post the recipe to my blog, however what with the daily grind and travelling between two states, enjoying  my kid brother's wedding festivities. The whole remake the cheese and take better pics got pushed to the back burner. But now I tell myself, enough is sufficient!!! Your readers are waiting for the recipe. Go share it with them, (and then maybe post the pics later???) So here gentle reader is my recipe for vegan cheese. Sourced mostly from this website http://www.landsandflavors.com/basic-almond-cheese/ And tweaked to reflect personal taste Ingredients Almonds 1 cup Garlic four cloves peeled Lemon juice  squeezed from 1/4 lemon 1/8 tsp bla

There are days when we enjoy cooking,  and there are days when it seems such a drag. You know,  the kind of day when you want to just make something super quick and easy, something that you can just put together without even thinking about it. Well a few days ago I  made just such a curry. It needs minimal effort and goes well with Rice,  Roti  or Naan.  You can even wrap it up in a tortilla To start with Take a Ridge gourd and cut into two halves or don't,  whichever way you like it Peel the ridge gourd, peel just the ridges,  and a layer of the skin,  keeping a bit of the skin intact.  Don't peel it all off as you don't want it to get too mushy as it cooks down This how it should look after peeling Slice it into juliennes like this Grab an onion and peel it Cut it into slices.. Not very thick as it won't cook well,  nor so thin that they disappear when cooking.( I  know you are proud of your onion slicing ski

For most people in India, the days between July and August are generally a busy time for most auspicious rituals are conducted during the Hindu month of Shravan ,  which falls sometime between these two months. One ritual associated with Shravan month is the exchanging of tamboolam. Married ladies give each other gift bags typically containing turmeric,  vermillion,  betel leaves and sprouted brown lentils( channa), signifying a wish for marital happiness and prosperity for both the giver and the receiver.  It is a fun ritual because you get to dress up in your best sarees and go and visit your neighbors and get to meet people,  but as the bags keep coming you start to wonder what to do with the endless supply of brown lentils.  Lots of times I  either make a curry out of them or I just boil them and have them with a little salt and tempering. We absolutely love having them both ways. However it gets tiring eating the same thing after  a while.  Last week DH's cousins

Some food pairings really go well together like toast and cheese,  peanut butter and jelly,  cucumbers and yoghurt, Capsicum and tomatos. Capsicum and tomato is a combination that cannot really be described. It just has to be tasted.  In this recipe, the mushy tartness of the tomato pairs perfectly with the crunch and pungency of the capsicum, while a sprinkling of curry powder adds that extra oomph.  It's a great side for almost any kind of rice,  Naan or Bread . It also works wonderfully as a filling for any kind of sandwich or wrap. To serve two. You will need, Two medium sized Capsicum (green bell  peppers) diced Four Roma tomatoes diced 2 teaspoons of curry powder of your choice (I use a homemade one-recipe coming up soon) Salt and paprika (red chilli powder) to taste A teaspoon each of cumin and mustard seeds for tempering (optional) A tablespoon of oil Heat oil in a saucepan or wok till you see tiny bubbles on the surface,  add the  cumin and mustard seeds

Most weekdays see me getting up really early at the crack of dawn to savor the fresh air,  and the peace that comes with solitude.  I  have to admit, though, that I  have never yet  managed to get up earlier than my Neighbors.  One would imagine,  that if one got up a quarter of an hour before sunrise,  one would be entitled to get up to the sounds of birdsong,  but no, I seem to live in a street of impossibly early risers.  I generally get up to the sounds of dishes being washed and of yards being swept all around me. Yet,  I  like to get up at this early hour and having gone through my ablutions and my  prayers, (just saying that links my soul somehow to all the men and women of all the ages past who did that very same thing,) sit down with a nice cup of tea by myself before the rest of the household wakes up,  and I have to get into the daily grind. Weekends,  however bring out all the latent spirit of 'la dolce vita'  in me. I get up far after the sun has gotten tired of